122 BIRDS' NESTS. 



ground ; and it seemed as if some mischievous 

 boy had discovered it, and not being able to 

 reach it, had upset it with a stick. The re- 

 mains of several eggs lay on the ground, but 

 one was still left in the nest. It was of a 

 dull green colour, spotted all over with red. 

 The nest was built of hay and stems of goose- 

 grass ; then came a layer of moss and mud 

 matted together, and the lining was of soft 

 dry grass. 



The eggs found that morning now amounted 

 to seven, and Mr. Miller, afraid that they might 

 get broken in the carriage, seated himself on 

 the trunk of an oak which had been recently 

 felled and stripped of its bark, and blew them. 

 This done, the eggs were placed in the larger 

 of the nests, and covered by the other, and were 

 then hidden among some thick herbage, to be 

 taken away as they returned. 



